November 29, 2009

'Dog Whispering' up near the Arctic Circle...

Ok, lesson for the day? Don't watch a Dog Whisperer marathon with 3 dogs sitting in the same room. Dogs have their own type of communication which any owner can identify in the noises they make (though they may not be able to accurately translate)...hearing those different types of howls, yelps, whines, and yips are not masked by the fact that they're coming out of a little box. Interesting.

As for me...I figure I have an ok hold on things, but Keisha's getting stronger; she needs a clear leader. And huskies are easily distracted. Fortunately, she's part of a pack both inside and outside the house. There's another big dog in the neighborhood who I've been working with...he is a big white monstrosity which looks quite similar to a wolf in stature - although he wears a collar, I never see him out with any type of owner. Since he is so intimidating-looking, the first few times I saw him I made sure that I gave a good bark and a constant growl whenever he came around. Go figure, all of a sudden he's part of the pack and doesn't leave my side when I'm out with Keisha. As it stands, I can let my little one off her leash to play and slide around on the ice, confident that both will return when I call. Cool, ya?

The pack inside the house? Gryphon and Scarlett - the chihuahua and chiweenie - still rank higher in the dog world, but the raw strength of the husky is going to change things around. Keisha is submissive by nature but when she rolls over to show this she can actually squish them!

Anyway...

These days we have about 4-5 hours of light and, by 'light', I mean a twilight-type state. I think it would be brighter if we weren't surrounded by mountains, but without them Pang just wouldn't be Pang. I have to say, I'm slowly getting used to the shorter days. For a night owl like me, I just had to start looking at it in a different way. When it's dark, you think it's late; I'm accustomed to doing work when it's late, so I get more done. Unfortunately, there will be an inverse effect when the spring hits. Boo.

Another northern thing? My Arctic Cat. The snowmobile is still tempermental, but I'm having a bit more luck with it. The thing is, I can't trust it. I can't trust that it's going to take me to work tomorrow, nor can I trust that it'll take me home. I'm glad Pang is small...I would hate having to walk an hour just to get home (it's about 30-40 minutes from tip-to-tip).

Well, time to put together something to eat; although it feels like it will be a midnight snack, it'll only be a late lunch. I love how that works!

2 comments:

Iwanttodeletemyblog said...

The dark is neat isn't it? We are down to 2 hours of sun now! It won't be much more than a week before 24 hour no sun (I'm sure there will be twilighty-ness for a bit longer)

Tammy said...

LOL - you should be Keisha's leader at least that is what I tell myself everytime my dogs do something wrong.
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